Everyone's a Writer

It seems every other celebrity wants to write children's books. I suppose it's only a matter of time before our own Malaysian famous and shameless also start.

I wouldn't recommend it unless one is passionate about writing, and about writing children's books in particular. It would help if you've also read at least some kids' books.

I'm being very careful with my next picture book. Don't want to rush it as so many things went wrong with the first four, not least that I was foolish enough to be persuaded to write and publish FOUR at a go.

This week's column also touches on child authors. I don't think they should be published unless their age didn't influence the publisher's decision and is not a factor when it comes to reviewing them. What's your stand on this?

Claim to fame, or sham?

Tots to Teens
By DAPHNE LEE

GERI Halliwell aka Ginger Spice has published Ugenia Lavender, the first in a series of six books about a spunky redhead with a "sense of right and wrong" (said Halliwell in an interview in The Guardian). Whatever next, eh? I haven't read the book and I have no burning desire to do so. I do admit that I'm judging Halliwell's book by its loud and tacky cover and the work of other celebrities who have tried writing for children.

Madonna, Leanne Rimes and Sir Paul McCartney have all written for children. Why? It seems, merely because publishers are more than eager to back them simply on the strength of their fame.

And isn't it interesting that most celebrity writers choose to write for children? You'd be tempted to think that they pick this route because they believe it's a lot easier than tackling a novel, or they hope children are less critical. Oh, and they also think the pretty illustrations will distract readers from the bad prose. Of course, I’m sure none of the above is true. I'm certain celebrity authors write for children because it's something that they've worked on for years and years, and are willing to continue to work at until they have perfected their craft or died in the attempt. Yes. Of course.

Still, one never knows. Geri Halliwell might well be the next E. Nesbit. However, I think I'll wait for some other book reviewer to make this discovery. With so many (good) books to read, I really can't spare the time for someone who shot to fame singing a song that contained the words "zig-a-zig-ah". 

While I'm in this mood ... I might as well start on something else that's bothering me: child authors, that is, children who publish books. There've been quite a few, and some have been very successful. Anne Frank is probably the most famous and widely read child author to date. However, she didn't write her diary intending for it to be published. Neither do I think it would have been published if it'd been written in the same style but in the 1980s and about boys and acne.

Some quick thoughts on child authors (because, as it usually happens, this topic has popped up a lot of late - parents asking if little Johnny's book should be published, little Johnny himself sending me his manuscript to be critiqued, a publisher announcing that it has a new very young writer):

I have nothing against child authors per se, but I don't think children should be published simply because they are children (just as celebs shouldn't be encouraged to write and publish books simply because they've recorded and sold millions of CDs).

If a child's work is published I feel it should be judged (reviewed) without consideration for the age of its writer/illustrator. I don't think a reviewer should have to keep saying that a book is "good for something written by a five-, 10- or 15-year-old". Next we'll have to make all kinds of concessions for authors: deaths in the family, physical handicaps, illness, bankruptcy etc.

Last but not least, I'm leery of the motives of parents who push for their child to be published? It's definitely naive of me to expect publishers not to use a child's age as a marketing tool, but parents surely owe their children more consideration than to milk their tender years for a bit of recognition.

I feel the best a parent of a talented child (especially a very young child of, say, primary school age) can do is to nurture his gift and encourage his love for writing by giving him plenty of oppurtunities to read widely, write regularly and meet with people who will offer guidance and honest evaluation of his skills. Surely real talent will keep. The rush to make it public seems, to me, to stink of exploitation of a gift before it has been given time to blossom. Exposure might well kill it, or stunt its growth, and all you would have to show for it is 15 minutes of fame.

Comments

[Yvonne Foong]

Yes, I do agree with you. I wish I had written my book better although I was no child. So I try to make it up now, by aiming to improve my reading and writing. We should write for writing's sake. But even editors expect writers to write to impress audience!

[Mlle Monster]

Anyone who thinks that writing for an audience a generation removed is easy obviously has not tried her hand at it.

There is the challenge of keeping up with shifting political correctness and changing morality, culture and language; not to mention literary standards set by vanguards who make certain that the books do not insult their and their children’s intelligence.

As a 30-something who has more children's than adult fiction on her bookshelves (and I don't even have kids yet), I am disturbed by the glut of books available that are thinly veiled attempts of regurgitating what kids are already watching on TV.

At first glance, Geri’s protagonist looks and sounds suspiciously like Cartoon Network’s Juniper Lee. And I can’t help but have a suspicion that even then, it was written by a ghost writer. I may be wrong of course.

Oh and with regards to parents exploiting their children’s talents, pushing children to write is a progression from the over the top children’s singing contests and story-telling competitions. Parents spending hundreds on costumes alone are not unheard of. What’s a little pressure to get their kids published.

I remember a time when we use to tell stories in our school uniforms.

[Hsian]

Frankly, I think children's books are far more difficult to write than books for adults! It is so strange that so many people think otherwise :)

[Daphne]

Hello Anna. Thanks for your comment.

We live in such a competitive society and children are, sadly, not spared. It's what all the tuition and extra-curricular activities amount to.

I wish parents would just allow their children to enjoy themselves, but as a parent myself I know how hard it is not to panic and think that your child might be left behind in the rat race if you don't give him a head start.

I think some parents want their children to be published because it'll look good on his/her CV. A cold-blooded motive indeed!

[Anna]

Hi Daphne, I follow your Sunday column in The Star sometimes and marvel at your love and in-depth knowledge of books, especially children's. I agree with your thoughts about 'famous' people writing kid's books and parents pushing for their kids to be published. You've articulated them so clearly that I'm now more enlightened about my own reservations of purchasing those books.

[Daphne]

Thanks for the comment, Jenny!

Someone emailed to say that if parents did not publish their children's work, it might mean depriving the world of a future great talent. I don't think it's necessary to publish one's juvenilia in order to become an accomplished writer in adulthood. Presumably many leading authors showed promise as children and teenagers but never published a word until much later.

[Jenny]

Generally speaking, I tend to be a bit hesitant when I come across a book written by either a celebrity or a child, but have never been able to clearly articulate why, other than to say that I find it vaguely annoying. You've given my general annoyance clear voice, so thank you for that.

I enjoyed this post as a whole, but particularly the last paragraph about nurturing a child's talents and interests... I think that this is a valuable lesson for lots of parents!